


it’s cold at midnight (without you here)

by Author_021



Category: Asagao Academy: Normal Boots Club
Genre: Crime Husbands!!, M/M, also there’s a LOT of of swearing ajbdjabdjsnbd, and also Azura, be gay do crime, god i love this au, mentions of like theft and kidnapping, no beta reading we post immediately after finishing like men
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-03
Updated: 2019-11-03
Packaged: 2021-01-21 00:30:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21290726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Author_021/pseuds/Author_021
Summary: Shane’ partner-in-(literal)-crime Austin has gone missing, and he’s really not sure what to do about it.
Relationships: Shane Gill & Austin Hargrave, Shane Gill/Austin Hargrave
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	it’s cold at midnight (without you here)

**Author's Note:**

> If you want context: Shane and Austin are crime buddies who steal stuff. Jirard and Jeff are crime solvers on their tail. That’s all you need to know. Also Shane wears dresses cause he’s the distraction cause I said so.
> 
> Enjoy.

Austin had been missing for fucking  _ hours _ .

Shane isn’t sure exactly when the bastard weaseled his way out the back door- only that he’d been there for breakfast and not for dinner.

“This is the  _ worst fucking timing _ !” Shane yells at the radio slammed against the counter. It hisses back at him whenever he holds it, so instead he’s resolved to duct-taping the push-to-talk down so he can pace anxiously around in circles. He’s pretty sure there’s grooves in the floor following his path at this point.

Not that he gives a rat’s ass.

“This isn’t a time to panic, dumbass,” a voice crackles through the speaker. “I’m sure he’s fine. He brought his gun, yeah?”

“That’s what I’m assuming, but who in God’s hell knows?! Not fucking me, that’s who!! The gun isn’t in his fucking room but maybe I just missed it or maybe he dropped it or maybe it didn’t fucking  _ matter  _ and now he’s  _ kidnapped  _ and  _ I don’t see how you can be so fucking calm Caddy _ !”

The man at the other side of the radio sighs. “Y’know, when I said you should talk to me more, I wasn’t really talking about it like  _ this _ ,” Caddy grumbles, his voice growing louder as if he’s leaning closer to the microphone. “Look, Shane, there really isn’t anything I can do. I’ve called him already and- hey, no shut up, listen to me bitch. I tried tracking him and I tried calling him and it’s very obvious that he doesn’t  _ want _ somebody finding him right now. But this is Austin we’re talking about. You know how resilient that guy is. Why else do you think I work with him in the first place?”

“Because he’s impossible to reason with and you probably couldn’t get rid of him if you tried?” Shane snaps, leaning himself against the counter. Hit foot taps the floor anxiously,  _ tap, tap. Tap. _

“That was a  _ joke _ , Shane- and stop interrupting me, I’m trying to be comforting!” the other man whines. “Look, okay, I get it. You’re worried. But just give the man time. I’m sure he’s okay, and if he’s not, I’m sure Jimmy will tell us soon enough.”

“But-“

“No buts!! I’m on break now. Let me eat my fucking sandwich. And don’t call me back unless something actually fucking happens!!” Caddy cuts him off, and Shane hears something slam on the other end before the static goes quiet.

…

Fucking  _ bastard _ . Shane’s gonna punch him in the jaw next time he sees him. Absolute worst boss on the fucking planet. 

Without something to yell his frustrations at, Shane finds himself backpedaling to fall against the couch. His knees hit the armrest and he falls backwards, landing against the groaning cushions with a groan. His eyes follow the lazadaical spin of their ceiling fan, how it stirs the dingy forest green curtains that fall against the nighttime view through the window.

They live on the outskirts of the city, in a house wedged between a rotting sushi restaurant and an almost completely unoccupied mattress store, fronted by a street with broken street lamps and cracked pavement that makes driving Shane’s motorcycle an absolute train wreck.

But the two usually went out on nights like this anyways. Shane would drive the winding path down the streets and through the alleyways, listening as Austin would talk directly into his ears from where he was sat behind him. They’d drive into town, buy enough takeout to last a weekend, before heading up one of the hardly travelled roads up the slope of Mount Izo lined with massive trees and dense bushes. There’s a clearing at the top they’d stop at, settling out near the metal railing to look out over the city as they ate fifty McDonalds chicken nuggets straight out of the bag.

That was Austin’s choice, not his.

The view from their house isn’t nearly as nice. It’s blocked by a rusted old fence covered in  **Do Not Enter** signs and overgrown with tall grass from the other side. Their own yard is as well-maintained as they can get it; there’s mowed grass and a thrifted sofa placed under the overhang of their tiny patio. But it’s safe and protected, healthy enough for their dog Azura to play with Austin when the weather is nice and clear. 

The dog in question walks from where she’d been sitting in her dog bed, watching Shane pace around the kitchen, to stand right in front of his face. She noses his shoulder, sniffing along his arm in a way Shane knows means  _ Pet me before I go ape shit and destroy another dog bed _ .

He complies.

“You wouldn’t happen to know where Aussy went, would you Zuzu?” he whispers, running his nails along the backside of her ears. If she understood him, she doesn’t show it, instead continuing to smile as she leans into Shane’s hand. “I wonder if he told you.”

He lets his eyes close, throwing his free arm over his face to block out the lamplight. The music from the neighboring mattress store is a hum through the walls, pop music softened by layers of insulation until it’s almost distorted. He can almost see Austin twirling around the kitchen to the sound of Michael Jackson after every successful mission, tossing scraps of chicken meant for their dinner at Azura as if Shane isn’t watching him from the sofa.

_ God  _ he better be okay.

Shane hauls himself back to his feet, watching his dog bounce around his feet before dashing around the couch to sit politely beside her food bowl. Shane goes through the motions of feeding her, pulling food from the cupboard before waiting until she sits patiently, pouring the dry pellets into her bowl, and running his hand  _ once, twice  _ across her head before letting her eat. It should have been Austin’s turn to feed her dinner but, well. There were obvious complications. And a Shane wasn’t about to let their dog starve just to be petty.

But he feels his mind slipping back into that anxious spiral now that he’s lost the distraction Azura provided, and he scans the room for something, anything to keep himself distracted.

He sees his keys hung on the wall.

And without thinking too hard, a Shane slides a pair of sneakers on, pulls a coat around his shoulders, and grabs his keys as he walks out the door.

* * *

It’s colder out than Shane was expecting.

The wind bites at his skin as he drives his motorcycle through empty city streets and up mountain paths. He’s not sure where he’s going- he hasn’t quite thought that far- but the feeling of moving and climbing towards the sky keeps his mind clear. The trees have already begun shedding their warm, golden leaves, dropping them in Shane’s path. His motorcycle throws them up in sheets as he drives, leaving a fluttering flurry of yellow and orange and red in his wake.

There aren’t many people out tonight. He took a detour through town and saw only a handful of pedestrians, walking the streets in vibrant outfits decorated with wool scarves and patchwork jackets suited for the upcoming winter weather. The sky is clear, however, and the moonlight illuminates the familiar path Shane finds himself on as he climbs upward. It’s paved with tightly-packed mud and gravel, probably not the safest to be traveling in low light, but Shane isn’t concerned. He could probably navigate it with his eyes closed.

The clearing is always beautify, on clear nights.

Light pollution from the city isn’t as strong up here, meaning Shane can trace constellations across the blanket of sky and see the moon in full view as it climbs the horizon. White light flickers off of the metal railing, next to which Shane parks and cuts the engine, leaving him in near silence. He can still hear owls crying deep within the woods and leaves falling against the floor, and if he strains his hearing he can hear the branches clash against one another like  _ tap, tap, tap _ .

But it’s quiet. And Shane can finally hear himself think. He walks down the length of the barriers, letting his fingers glide across the grooves as he stares out over the city.  _ Austin would have liked to be here tonight _ , he thinks for a moment. 

It’s peaceful.

… and then he hears something coming up the pathway.

It sounds like a bear or something. It’s crashing through bushes and making a whole lot of fucking noise, and if Shane wasn’t terrified over the idea of being mauled by a fucking cougar, he’d probably be feeling his migraine again in full force. Reaching a hand under the bottom lip of his shorts, Shane grabs for the knife strapped to the inside of his thigh.

He prays to god that it’s enough to stall whatever this thing coming for him is enough to gun it down the mountain.

Hugging low to the ground, Shane starts inching back towards his bike. The creature in the woods sounds like it’s getting closer, and fast, and Shane feels his shoulders tense in preparation to fight the damn thing.

Bushes rustle aggressively at the edge of the clearing, and without hesitating, Shane launches the knife at full force. It passes through the darkness of the treeline right where Shane was aiming.

And he hears Austin  _ screech _ .

“CHRIST HAVE MERCY, SHANE, WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!” Austin yells, stumbling back-first into the clearing before falling square on his ass. “YOU ALMOST STABBED ME IN THE FACE!!”

Shane is frozen for a moment, feet solidified to the floor as he watches Austin scramble back to his feet. He’s wearing the same thing Shane saw him in this morning, with an added shawl hung over his torso. And with a scan of his frame, Shane sees he’s uninjured.

Safe.

That fucking-

“BASTARD!” Shane yells, scrambling in a mad dash towards Austin, hands held out in front of him. 

Austin screams again, attempting to dodge out of Shane’s way like a matador, but Shane catches him in the side, causing him to spin, unbalanced. “WOAH, hold up were you TRYING to kill me before?! What did I do?!?” Austin yells, holding his hands up as a sign of surrender.

“You vanished without fucking  _ telling me _ , and you’re asking me ‘ _ What did I do _ ’ you fucking ASSHAT!” Shane takes a swing at Austin’s head, but he keeps it slow. Austin catches his fist with both his hands, pulling it down to his side. “I should beat the shit out of you.”

Austin looks back at him with a guilty look on his face, but he smiles a little nonetheless. “No, no you really shouldn’t, I don’t stand a chance,” he jokes, running his hand across Shane’s arm as a way to calm him down. “I didn’t know it was going to upset you so much, I’m sorry.”

“You think I’m just gonna be a-okay with you just suddenly vanishing without warning? Austin I thought you got  _ kidnapped _ for fucks sake!”

Austin looks caught off guard, his shoulders pulled up to his ears. “I, uh… I’m sorry, I really didn’t think it’d upset you, I just… didn’t think you’d care that much.”

Shane flares up at him for a moment, taking a deep breath to relive the tension throughout his body. “Austin, you fucking dipstick. You’re a dumbass, you know that, yeah?”

“So I’ve been told,” Austin chuckles, moving one of his hands to grab Shane by the other forearm so they’re fully facing each other. He’s not looking at Shane, but he can see Austin’s eyes tracing the letters printed across his shirt before a look of realization crosses his face. “Oh, yeah! Probably a sensitive topic still, but I promise I wasn’t just gone from the face of the planet for no reason!” Austin smiles, backing up from Shane a few inches to swing the backpack hung across his back around so it’s in front of him on the floor. Shane feels the cold, late-autumn air against his arms again, and for a moment he misses the warmth of Austin’s hands against his skin.

“This better be good,” Shane grumbles, following Austin’s directions as he motions him to sit across from him on the floor of the clearing. The atmosphere is casual and familiar again, but there’s still a hanging tension as Austin digs around his bag. He pulls out a variety of items, most of which unreasonable large to be fitting in a bag of that size-  _ how did he fit a fucking bowling ball in there, also why the fuck does he have a bowling ball _ \- before he finally seems to find what he’s looking for.

“Aha! There it is,” Austin beams, looking up at Shane. “Alright, close your eyes.”

“Why?”

“Because it’s a suprise, stupid.”

“Got that part, asshat, but-“

“Just close your eyes, god!!” Austin sighs, visible deflating at Shane’s protests. Shane just rolls his eyes, trying deperately to keep the smile off his face, before closing his eyes. “Alright, you promise you can’t see?”

“Swear on Azura’s life.”

“Damn, you must really mean it! How many fingers am I holding up?”

Shane scowls, crossing his arms. “Fucking eleven.”

“Incorrect! Alright, keep em closed,” Shane can hear the smile in his voice as he pulls something out of his bag. Austin seems to push it out of the way, scooting closer so his knees are pressed into Shane’s, before Shane feels Austin’s hands graze against the sides of his face. 

He makes the mistake of opening his eyes.

Austin is sitting with his face inches from Shane’s own, a look of deep concentration in his face as he reaches around Shane’s neck. He isn’t sure how he didn’t feel Austin’s breath against his face before, but by god he feels it now, and he’s not really sure how to respond.

So he just closes his eyes again.

“Okay, ah- got it! Alright, alright ah, ok wait… alri-uh yeah!! Open your eyes!” Austin stumbles over his words, and when Shane fully opens his eyes, he’s sitting back on his ankles. A _much more reasonable, much less distracting _distance away. He has his hands clasped in front of him, a huge smile pulling across his face. “What do you think?”

Shane cranes his neck down to look at the weight now hanging from his neck.

And  _ ho-ly shit _ .

There’s a large silver necklace hung down his front, two separate chains falling across his chest. The longer chain is weighed down by a large purple stone, and when Shane lifts it between his fingers, it catches the moon in a way that makes it look milky white against his palm. There are small silver star charms that decorate along the chain as well.

It’s  _ gorgeous _ .

“Where…” Shane starts, his line of thought cut off as he draws a line up the length of the necklace.

“I can’t exactly tell you  _ where _ or  _ how _ , just that uh,” Austin starts, chuckling a bit as he wrings his hands together. “I know most of the jewelry you own isn’t exactly…  _ legal _ , and it’s kinda hard to wear a necklace you, uh, stole, out in public. In front of cops. So this one is perfectly legal!!”

Shane snaps his eyes back up. “You  _ bought this _ ?!?”

“Not  _ really _ , no,” Austin runs a hand across the back of his neck. “More of a trade. Did a favor for a friend and he gave it to me in return.”

Shane tries to think of something,  _ anything  _ interesting to say in return, but all he comes up with is, “Why?”

Austin seems caught off guard for a moment, before saying, “Well, you were saying a couple weeks ago how you had that new dress- the purple one with the silvery-bluish lining thing- and you were complaining cause you wanted to wear some jewelry with it, but the only one that went with it was a necklace we stole a couple months ago, remember the heist at the Fasler Museum during that exhibit opening? We got an amethyst necklace off the host’s wife, and I know you  _ really like  _ that one so I was thinking ‘Where can I get something like that legally?” so I went to look at prices and- oh my god Shane do you know how much those things are worth? No wonder Caddy’s making us hoard those bastards!- so obviously we can’t afford that so I-“

“Austin. Please. Stop,” Shane reaches out, grabbing Austin’s hands to make them stop wildly waving through the air. “I… you were paying attention to that? Me complaining?”

“Of course I was!” Austin says, as if it’s the most obvious thing in the world. “I’m always paying attention to you,” he smiles, before he blinks his eyes open wide. “I mean, like, not in a creepy way! I’m not like stalking you or anything! I mean, it’d be kinda hard to stalk you since we like live together, but I guess it’s still possible, but I promise I’m not-!”

“Why?”

“Huh? Why? Probably cause I’m not a weirdo, why else wouldn’t I stalk you-“ 

“No, dipshit!” Shane sighes, looking back down at the crystal hanging from his neck. “Why did you… go through all this. For me.”

Austin lets out a noise in the back of his throat, and Shane feels his arm relax where they’re still held in Shane’s grasp. “Because I care about you,” he says quietly. “And I knew it’d make you happy.”

Shane pulls a hand away from Austin to rub across his face, covering his eyes before he cranes his neck so he’s staring up at the sky. “ _ God _ , why did I get stuck with such a sentimental bastard?” he whispers, getting a quiet laugh out if Austin before he looks back down with a small smile. “You’re a bastard.”

“Yeah, yeah, I know,” Austin holds up his hands in surrender. “Austin Hargrove, bastard boy. Do you forgive me?”

Shane purses his lips, looking Austin dead in the eyes. “I dunno, do I?”

“What if I buy you McDonalds?”

“Wow, my knight in shining armor, huh? What did I do to deserve you?”

“I dunno!” Austin laughs, moving to stand up before holding out a hand. “Whatcha say?” he pauses, scrunching up his face before saying “…Partner?”

Shane rolls his eyes, grabbing Austin’s hand before pulling himself to his feet. “You a cowboy now?”

“Yeehaw! Let's go to the ol’ Waterin’ Hole and get a… uh… large sprite to share! Aye-aye!- wait that’s a pirate-“

“Austin I’m begging you  _ please _ shut up.”

“Okay, okay, sheesh, no need to be rude,” Austin mocks offense, walking away towards the motorcycle. Shane moves into stride beside him, and he feels Austin reach out to grab at his shoulder. “...You do like it though, yeah?”

Shane looks up at him. He’s framed in the moonlight perfectly, a solid silhouette against the sky, yet Shane can still make out the flickers of green in his eyes. They’re the same color as the curtains that frame the walls of their living room, and Shane realizes they feel equally like home.

He considers being a smartass, saying something like  _ I’d like it a lot more if you hadn’t vanished all day and scared me half to death _ or  _ Maybe if you kiss me first _ , but instead he just nods, offering a quiet, “Yeah, I love it,” that makes the familiar smile bloom across Austin’s features.

Before Shane can have a heart attack, he settles into the seat of the motorcycle, waiting for Austin to take his place behind him before starting the engine. It’s loud in the quiet of the forest, shatters the tranquility of the nighttime without grace.

But it’s not quite loud enough to block out Austin saying, “It looks really good on you.”

And Shane hopes it’s not loud enough to block out his response of, “I know,” before they drive off into the dark.

**Author's Note:**

> I haven’t written in months 😔 *blows kiss* this was for you discord server friends ily all


End file.
